HM: The Time has Come to Save the Homeland
by Rommel1
Summary: Set in the StH world. Rommel is troubled with having to save the town from being taken away. Can the Barbarian forces of Halas help him and the town? Who's behind the scheme to destroy the town?! Please R&R.


Harvest Moon:  
The time has come to  
Save the Homeland  
  
Disclaimer: Harvest Moon and all characters therein do not belong to me. Neither does the world of Norrath or that of Diablo II. I do, however, own most of the rights to Xantor and Golrath, so please email them personally to use them in your own muscular story!  
  
"Ok, I'm in a bit of a problem." Rommel was talking on the phone in his new kitchen. He had just purchased it from Woody, the local carpenter, and was taking advantage of the new services that came with it.  
"I just came to this town, you know? It's very important to me," Rommel paused and listened attentively to the voice on the other side of the line. He swallowed and continued.  
"They said that in about a year, this town is going to be renovated into an amusement park." There was a few seconds of speech on the reciever's side.  
"Yeah, and I don't know what I'm going to do. I mean, they can't just destroy the place. This town has a lot of value to me and everyone here," Rommel wiped at his brow and nodded at the speaker on the line.  
"I know, It's terrible. Do you think you could, uh?" Rommel stopped when the voice was speaking enthusiastically back. A smile grew from Rommel's troubled face and he sighed in relief.  
"Oh, Thank the Tribunal. Alright, I'll see you soon, Xantor."  
  
Unbeknownst to Rommel, his phone line was being tapped. A large, burly man was listening in on Rommel's conversation, and rage brewed within him as he listened.  
"Grr, damn that Xantor..!" Golrath stood up from the dirt floor in which he was tapping the line from.  
"Alright, men! We're going through with plans a little early. We'll be moving out immediately!" Golrath stood before a dozen equally as large and burly men. They all stood in single file, wearing nothing but their kilts, mammoth-leather boots and hardhats.  
"Yes, sir!" The Barbarian construction workers all grabbed their pickaxes and started up their bulldozers, and were lost over the horizon in no time.  
  
Rommel hung his phone back up on his wall receiver and poured himself a glass of milk, straight from his own farm. Before he could finish pouring the glass, he heard the sound of jet engines soaring over head, a parachute opening, and a knock on his door.  
"Hello, Rommel. I'm here," Xantor the Barbarian stood at the door way. His massive form illuminated by the sunlight behind him.  
"Great! Come on in," Rommel motioned Xantor in, and he ducked as he entered the small doorway.  
"What should we do?" asked Rommel worriedly.  
"Hmm. I believe it is best if we ask the townsfolk what should be done. Perhaps we can better understand the problem. How much time do we have?"  
"Well, I've been here for a little under 6 months. That gives us only a little over half a year to find a reason to prevent this town from being renovated," Rommel's troubled look returned.  
"Worry not, young one. This town will not be destroyed. I promise," Xantor's heroic voice inspired courage in Rommel. He looked up at Xantor with ecstatic eyes. He knew the town would be ok, as long as Xantor the Barbarian was here!  
  
"Look. You said we'd have a year. It hasn't even been 6 months yet! You can't do this!" Clove, the standing authority of the town and the wealthiest man therein, was arguing with the Barbarian construction workers as they stood lined up with their brutal instruments ready to destroy the town.  
"Grr, what did you say?" Golrath was holding the amusement park blue prints in his hands as Clove pleaded to his back.  
"One year! You said one year, it hasn't even been half that..!" Before Clove could finish his sentence, he was stumbling backwards with horror-stricken eyes. As he collapsed to the ground, it became apparent that a tremendous throwing axe was embedded in his skull. Blood began to pool about his body, as the villagers erupted in protest.  
"What the hell are you doing?! This is breach of contract!" Gwen reached for a large stone and hurled it at one of the workers. As the villagers watched her courage, they too began to pick up stones and pieces of trash and hurl them at their adversaries. Golrath simply watched the crowds with a satisfied look. He motioned at his underling workers and they all started to menacingly advance towards the town. The crowd's bravery dwindled, as the sight of these men and their tools of destruction closed in ever closer to them.  
"Grawhaha. such fun this shall be!" Golraths booming voice seized the crowds with fear. His eyes met the shaking eyes of Gwen, who was a mere couple of feet from Golrath's frightening presence. Gwen was shivering in fear. Golrath grabbed her by the neck and held her up. The villagers gasped, and remained still.  
"So, brave one. Look what your bravery has brought you now!" Golrath laughed a sinister laugh as he reached for his War Axe. He held the blade over Gwen's struggling body, as she scratched and kicked at Golrath's large, burly arm. Amidst Golrath's laughs, there came a deafening metallic bang. Gwen screamed as she fell to the ground. Her eyes opened back up, she hurriedly checked her body but found no marks. She stared back up at Golrath, who's burning eyes were turned to a high treetop, his axe blade shattered in his hand.  
"What?!"  
The townsfolk crowds, as did the barbarian construction workers, all turned their surprised heads to the treetops. There, balancing precariously on the highest tree, was Xantor the Barbarian. His arms crossed and a handful of shurikens in his fist.  
"Stop right there, Golrath!" Xantor stood as a silhouette against the sun behind him. The townsfolk all gasped in amazement, but the vile, Rallos Zek Barbarian construction workers all scowled in intense anger.  
"Xantor!" Golrath tossed his massive, shattered axe to the side, and it smashed a hole into Wallace's seaside-restaurant. Reaching for a throwing axe, he called back to Xantor, "You're always in my way!"  
Golrath hurled the axe with precision aim and massive force. Xantor leapt into the air as the axe cut the top off of the tree. On his descent to the ground, Xantor unleashed hundreds of shurikens, which pelted at the Barbarian workers and their construction equipment. He landed gracefully, caving in the ground around him, and drew his 3-handed swords from his back.  
"Construction worker Boneater! I will not let you destroy this town!" Xantor stood in his fighting stance against the group of Zek Barbarians as they stood themselves up, despite the shurikens lodged in their thick, burly skin. They all reached for their weapons, and brandished intricately carved spearheads and fine sword-blades.  
"Oh, yeah?!" Golrath pulled his remaining war-axe from his belt, "You and what army?!"  
Xantor lowered his stance and stood upright.  
"This army!" Xantor snapped his fingers, and within seconds, hang- gliders were soaring overhead. From the skies dropped half a dozen Barbarian soldiers, their kilts woven with the cloth of the Tribunal. Their swords forged from the finest of Halasian steels. They were lined up in formation around Xantor the Barbarian.  
  
"The stage is set, Golrath!" There was utter stillness. Not even blades of grass dared to move in this scene. The villagers all watched with mouths agape; they were heartbroken to know that their home would become a battlefield, but deep down they knew this was the only way to save the homeland. The people's worried eyes contrasted with the Barbarian's fiery gazes. Somewhere, a mammoth-leather boot dug into the dirt floor, and the two sides of Barbarian armies were swinging their weapons at one another. From the moment the first sword-blade's clashed, the villagers were on the ground, having been knocked off their feet by the waves of sheer force the barbaric weapons emanated during battle. They were amazed, but could see nothing but masses of dust clouds and an occasional weapon that would jut forth therein. Only a mere several seconds passed, and suddenly, the warcries and clashing weapons halted.  
The last echo of metallic clamor resounded through the town. A thick cloud of dust obscured the townspeople's view into the Barbaric battle field. Silence settled over the restless watchers.  
"Is it. over?" A village girl spoke quietly as she gathered her breath. She stood up and dusted off her dress, "Well, that was fast!" "Get down, Katie!" spoke an irritated villager, who still lay on his stomach and watching. Everyone's eyes were affixed, no one moved or dared to blink a single eye. "Look! There's nothing there, its over. I'm going home!" The cheery girl turned and started to skip back to the now-demolished seaside restaurant.  
The dust cloud suddenly parted in a v-shaped path. A throwing axe soared at uncanny speeds above the villagers, who covered their heads and closed their eyes with a gasp. The axe met its target and was lodged in the back of Katie's skull. She flew forth several yards before lifelessly collapsing on the front doorstep of the restaurant.  
In the clearing of the dust, stood Golrath the Barbarian.  
"It's never over!" His voice shook the hearts of the villagers who were now lying at Golrath's mercy. A sickly grin grew across his face as he clenched his war-axe.  
"GRAAH!" A pained expression lit up on Golrath's face, as he fell forward and smashed into the ground. Behind him was Xantor the Barbarian, standing with fists raised.  
"That's right, Golrath. It is never over!" Leaping into the air with a grunting "huh!" Xantor raised his arms in a crane stance and began gliding downward, ready to land in Golrath's back with his large burly knee. Golrath rolled backwards and narrowly avoided Xantor's knee. As he landed, the ground cratered around him, and the clouds of dust instantly dissipated, revealing the clear battlefield of fallen soldiers and broken weapons. The watching townspeople gaped, seeing now that the only remaining warriors were Golrath and Xantor.  
"Xantooooooor!" With both hands, Golrath swung his tremendous axe down at Xantor's head. Xantor grasped the blade with both hands, rolled on his back, and with his foot against Golrath's chest, launched him over the trees into Walnut Forest. Golrath flailed his arms in midair and managed to steady himself, just as he crash landed into the roof of Woody the Carpenter's house. The Building leveled to the ground, sending lumber and rubble soaring hundreds of yards into the air. Xantor leapt to Golrath in pursuit with a sword in hand. Golrath raised his axe and deflected Xantor's mighty blow. Frantically, he took swing after swing at Xantor with his axe, but his calm attitude effortlessly avoided the attacks.  
"Damn you, Xantor!" Golrath spun around with axe extended in front of him. Xantor ducked, but as he leapt back up, was knocked back into Kurt's house by narrowly deflecting Golrath's successive axe hit. Xantor was launched into the air, and smashed into Kurt's small cottage, destroying his garden and reducing his home to a pile of broken boards and personal belongings.  
"What?!" Xantor shook off his daze and noticed Golrath spinning at increasingly rapid speeds. Where as Xantor had managed to avoid Golrath's reckless axe swing, he failed to realized that Golrath was in fact beginning his deadly whirlwind attack! "Oh, no! Not this!"  
Golrath's movements were blurred as his spinning speed began to reach critical heights. Adventurous and curious villagers now gathered at the entrance to the Walnut forest, and gazed in horror as they saw the two wrecked buildings and Xantor staring helplessly at Golrath the human tornado. Xantor desperately thought of a way to stop Golrath, but before he could, his eyes met the villagers' who stood watching dumbfounded. Xantor leapt to his feet.  
"No! Everyone, get away!!" Xantor called out to the villagers, but before they could take notice, the whirlwinding Golrath was closing in on them.  
"Graah ha ha ha. I shall feast on bones tonight!" Called out a voice from the spinning hurricane of axe blades.  
Xantor couldn't stop Golrath with his barehands without getting killed, but the villagers were going to be killed by Golrath if he didn't stop him. A thought crossed Xantor's mind, and he closed his eyes and stood upright. Xantor focused his metal energy and prepared to unleash his mighty Shivering Press of the Short-Tempered Goddesses. In a flash, Xantor became a beam of light that shot into the sky, and landed again on Golrath. The massive spinning power and the powerful pressure of Xantor's attack caused the two warriors to drill deep into the earth, just in the nick of time as the Villagers suddenly realized how close their deaths were to them. A massive, smoking hole in the ground appeared before the villagers. Cautiously, one peeked his head over and saw nothing but blackness.  
"Where did they go..?" Asked a man, still leaning over the hole. A roaring blast, much like a speeding freight train shot from the hole, and Golrath's body was seen soaring in the air. The man who was leaning over the hole was launched in the opposite direction, and his screaming body trailed off into the sea. Xantor leapt out of the hole as well, heading in the same direction as Golrath.  
The villagers heard a now-familiar sound of buildings being destroyed and Xantor the Barbarian landing on the ground. Golrath had once again crash landed, this time into Ronald's supermarket. Golrath lay shaking his head in collapsed shelves of foods and cooking materials.  
"Golrath, this battle is over. Enough have died, admit your defeat!" Xantor stood above Golrath with his sword blade extended.  
"Grrr. Xantor. how wrong you are," Golrath, still lying on his back and staring at Xantor who stood near the path to the Flower Shop, began to have that familiar sickly smile grow on his face.  
"What are you planning, Golrath?! You have lost! It is over!" Xantor motioned forward with his massive sword.  
"But, Xantor. Wasn't it you who said 'It is never over?'," Golrath's eyes narrowed and his grin widened. In a movement no mortal could have seen, Golrath tackled Xantor and the two were soaring hundreds of feet into the air. Xantor had been directly hit with Golrath's Blasphemous Unholy Foot Tackle, and now they were becoming a streak of barbaric light that the villagers gawked at in awe. Their arc-like path came down again and they landed in Louis's Tool Shop, pulverizing the building into chunks of lumber no bigger than a Harvest Sprite. Pieces of shattered wood pelted the landscape of the whole town, as Xantor and Golrath continued their epic duel. Golrath was wielding a throwing axe as a weapon and Xantor's broken sword fended off Golrath's quick attacks. The two warriors were now pumped with adrenaline, having each used their super-secret hidden desperation attacks. Every swing and clash of their weapons sent gusts of wind that knocked limbs off of trees and sent rubble rocketing off at great speed. Golrath clutched his Axe in both hands and took a massively powerful vertical swing at Xantor. Xantor saw the attack and countered with the same force. As their weapons collided, they shattered into shards of Halasian metal. Noticing this, Xantor dropped his hilt and threw a hard punch at Golrath's back. Golrath flew forward and landed in Lyla's flower shop, smashing out one wall and knocking down the shelves of seeds and plants. Golrath threw his hilt at Xantor in desperation, but was too late to avoid a kick to the side. Xantor's roundhouse sent Golrath hurling through 3 solid walls of brick and landed against the nearby apple tree, collapsing the duplex house and attracting the attention of the village people once again. Xantor was now relentlessly beating on Golrath with all of his power. Standing up, Golrath shook his head and saw Xantor's fist approaching his face. Golrath blocked and swung at Xantor with a right hook. Xantor grabbed his arm, and with his free hand gave Golrath three quick punches to the stomach, before latching on to Golrath's right arm with both hands and tossing him over his shoulder all the way into Brownie Farm. Golrath landed through the roof of Bob's house, and stood as he saw Xantor charging him at full speed. He steadied his legs, and held out his arms. Just as Xantor shoulder charged into him, he picked Xantor up over his head and tossed him once more to Clove's Villa. Xantor landed in a roll, and smashed out the rock walls surrounding Clove's Villa. He stood up and saw Golrath calmly walking towards him with fire in his eyes.  
"Look now, Xantor!" Xantor looked behind him and noticed their position high above a cliff that overlooked the sea, "This is it. You shall meet your doom in this place!"  
"Not today, Golrath." Xantor stood with fists raised as Golrath got ever closer. Golrath stopped before Xantor and stared him in the face. With a smug smile, Golrath watched as Xantor charged. He dodged Xantor's fists, and blocked his kicks. He waited for an opening and elbowed at Xantor's ribcage. Xantor stumbled backwards, and Golrath landed one more blow in Xantor's face. He flew back into the mansion behind him, caving in half the building. Xantor still stood and continued to swing at Golrath with his large, burly fists. Golrath had an edge, and dodged or blocked every move Xantor made.  
"You can't win, Xantor!" Golrath spoke between Xantor's attacks.  
"How did you.?!" Xantor leapt backwards, getting closer to the cliff's end.  
"Now, Xantor. I will end it. with your doom!" Golrath pulled his fist back, and Xantor stood fearless. Golrath's powerful voice echoed along the shattered walls of Clove's Villa. The ground began to shake, and the sound of rubble crashing into the sea below resounded forth into Xantor's ears. Still, Xantor stood without notion of fear or defeat.  
"Here it is, Xantor! My Unthinkable Claw of the Boneating Demon Beast!" Just as Golrath was about to land his powerful attack into Xantor, he stopped and turned, staring in utter disbelief.  
"No! It can't be!"  
A warcry like no other was soaring forth, as Golrath witnessed the top of a leather helmet advancing towards him. Bodies collided and Golrath was sent soaring thousands of feet over the edge of the cliff. In his place stood Windarr, the Barbarian!  
"We'll meet again, Xantor and Windarr!" Called Golrath as he became a lost figure over the horizon.  
Windarr stood with his head still lowered. He raised himself back up and cracked his neck.  
"Ah, how refreshing!" Spoke Windarr, as he stood with his hands at his waist.  
"Windarr! Good timing, I was afraid you weren't going to make it to the show!"  
"What? Miss this? I'd never!"  
The two hearty barbarians laughed as the townspeople came running up to the site of the battle. Golrath was gone, the town was saved, and the battle was over.  
"Xantor! You saved the homeland! How can we ever repay you?" Spoke Rommel, who now stepped forward from the cheering crowds.  
"Now now, you owe us no thanks! Protecting people is what we do best, young one."  
Townsfolk hugged and kissed family and friends. Tears of joy ran from their faces.  
"If evil shall ever return, never hesitate to call the forces of the Halasian rescue team!"  
The cheers grew louder and bottles of champagne salvaged from Wallace's wrecked restaurant popped open and glasses were filled. A party ensued as Xantor and Windarr watched with pleased faces. "Xantor, White-Base says they'll need you back as soon as everything is secure. We should be going," Said Windarr.  
"Ofcourse, let's move." And with that Xantor and Windarr were leaping over the horizon out of sight, "Farewell, Rommel! And farewell, Village!"  
Rommel and the rest of the townsfolk waved and called out to Xantor as he leapt away.  
  
On the seaside battlefield lay the bodies of the fallen Barbarian warriors. Their battered bodies were covered in dust. Suddenly, a hand moved. Slowly it reached around, supporting his massive body upwards. He grabbed for his hard hat and placed it on his head. An evil smile grew across his face as he gazed at the empty village around him.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED.  
  
(not really tho, Xantor just comes back and kills him real fast)  
  
the end 


End file.
